Predoctoral fellow
Encyclopedia
In the physical sciences, a predoctoral fellow ("pre-doc") refers to a researcher who has a bachelor's degree
, but not a doctorate. As the name implies, predoctoral fellows often use their time as a fellow to develop their skills and resume before applying to graduate school
. They differ from lab managers in that they primarily pursue research, rather than maintain the day-to-day function of a lab. Pre-docs are often able to apply for their own sources of funding, such as the "Ford Fellowship" for minorities.
In natural sciences a pre-doc is usually used from a student registered in a Ph.D. program who needs labs not available in his/her home university. In Mathematics typically a pre-doc is again somebody already registered in a Ph.D. program going in a host university to work together with a professor in a different optic with respect to his/her topic. Sometimes it's regarded as academic tourism and anyway it looks very good in the curriculum.
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
, but not a doctorate. As the name implies, predoctoral fellows often use their time as a fellow to develop their skills and resume before applying to graduate school
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
. They differ from lab managers in that they primarily pursue research, rather than maintain the day-to-day function of a lab. Pre-docs are often able to apply for their own sources of funding, such as the "Ford Fellowship" for minorities.
In natural sciences a pre-doc is usually used from a student registered in a Ph.D. program who needs labs not available in his/her home university. In Mathematics typically a pre-doc is again somebody already registered in a Ph.D. program going in a host university to work together with a professor in a different optic with respect to his/her topic. Sometimes it's regarded as academic tourism and anyway it looks very good in the curriculum.